What does it mean to be wholeheartedly committed to something? Let's suppose that I were to tell someone that I was wholeheartedly committed to Christ and being a Christian. Anyone who heard me say that would expect certain things from me. They would probably expect me to go to church every Sunday and Wednesday for services. They would probably assume that I was faithful with the tithe and probably suppose that I gave above and beyond to missionaries and other special needs. People might even go so far as to think that I read my Bible every day and pray on a regular basis.

Is this list the answer to what it means to be a wholeheartedly committed Christian? I would propose that it is not, and I am sure that some of you would agree. This week I would like to remind you as well as myself of the fact that God has called us into a wholehearted committed relationship with Him. God illustrates for us in the Bible that our relationship with him is like that of a marriage relationship. A marriage relationship is a commitment between two people to be faithful to each other and God. It is probably the single most important commitment we make with someone here on this earth, and not one to be made halfheartedly.

When I married my wife I made a commitment to her before our friends and family and before God to love honor and cherish her all the rest of my life. For me that was a wholehearted commitment. Now, does that mean that I will only love, honor, and cherish her on Sundays and Wednesdays? Absolutely not! I made a commitment to her for all time and the same went for her with me. It is something that we work at everyday through interaction and communication with each other. It is the good times, the not so good times, and everything in between. Why? Because I love her and am committed to her with everything that is within me.

If I were to ask you whether or not my marriage would last and you were only privileged with the information that I was only going into it halfheartedly, would you think that it would last? I would have to say that most every single one of you would tell me that there is no way that my marriage would last any real length of time. I know that I would feel that way. And yet this is how a lot of Christians approach their relationship with Christ.

Christianity is an engaging faith. It is a faith that is built upon our ability to have relationship with our creator. The Bible tells us that it is his desire to have a relationship with us and that God knew us before we were even born. God is available to us day and night and night and day, he never sleeps, goes on vacation or gets too busy to spend time with us and hear what is on our hearts. The list of things that I gave you at the beginning are all very important in how we can wholeheartedly commit ourselves to Christ, but those actions in and of themselves are not solely the answer. There are people in the church that commit to do everything that they can, they teach every class, sing on the worship team, come to the all the potlucks and chaperone all the youth outings, but they have no real relationship with God. They are so busy with doing that they have missed the point of all the doing.

Looking at my marriage again, if all that I did was buy my wife things and do things for her but I never spent any time with her and never took the time to listen to her and try to understand her, how vibrant is my relationship with her going to be?

Marriage is such an amazing illustration for our relationship with God because it is the closest thing here on earth to the kind of relationship that God desires with us, one of wholehearted commitment. This week think about and evaluate where you are in this relationship with God - your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Take a moment and look at whether you are halfheartedly committed to your creator, giving him a few hours a week on the appropriate days and only saying and doing the "appropriate" tasks that you think make you a Christian. And if you are, ask Jesus to go with you to work, school, the movies, diner, the park or wherever you go. This week make a decision to wholeheartedly commit yourself to the one who has never stopped being wholeheartedly committed to you.

The two verses that I would encourage you to take with you everywhere you go this week are Matthew 22:37 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." Notice that it does not say "some of your" anywhere in this verse. Christ is asking that for wholehearted commitment. On top of that, Christ goes on in the next verse to say that this is the greatest commandment.

The second verse that I want you to chew on this week deals with how we approach all the relationships we have here on this earth. It is a model for how we should act in our places of work, our homes with our families and when we are hanging out with our friends. Ephesians 6:7 "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men...

Final Thought: Let the life changing power of Christ come into your life this week and see how your world begins to change when you whole heartedly go after God. Remember he has already gone wholeheartedly after you, and he is still.